Intel is outsourcing its marketing to Accenture, banking on the consulting giant’s AI services to strengthen its customer outreach.

According to a report from The Oregonian, Intel notified marketing employees that it plans to outsource many of its jobs to Accenture as part of CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s restructuring of the company. As always, AI is the magic bullet, with the report stating that Intel believes Accenture's use of AI will connect with customers better than current operations.

The news comes as Intel continues its restructuring initiative under Tan to stem the company’s financial losses, with sales totaling $53 billion in 2024, down by a third from three years prior.

As revealed earlier this month, the company plans to cut up to 20 percent of its manufacturing workforce as the new CEO aims to streamline Intel’s management and make engineering the key focus of the company. The mission to return Intel Foundry to its heyday saw 15,000 workers laid off in the second half of 2024; though it is not known how many Intel jobs could be potentially lost on the marketing side.

SDxCentral has reached out to Intel for comment.

Intel’s accent on the future

The Intel and Accenture relationship dates back to 2014; case studies online include a blockchain-powered supply chain solution created by the two partners for Nippon Express.

Meanwhile, online material from the consultancy mentions a proprietary 'AI refinery' designed to assist its own marketers through the aid of AI agents, with the refinery built on various tools from Intel rival Nvidia.

Accenture also has its own marketing subsidiary in Accenture Song, which as of Monday is being rolled into a 'reinvention services' unit aiming to deliver more on the promise of generative AI.

Intel’s 'accent on the future' – to borrow a nickname for Accenture – is clearly banking on that AI promise as it undergoes its own reinvention under Tan. In its message to marketing employees, Intel said it is hoping to leverage AI-driven tech to improve speed, efficiency, and spend management.

With manufacturing and now marketing under scrutiny, Intel is moving on with Tan’s promise of several rounds of job cuts across 2025. The company is also seemingly happy with the cost-to-loss ratio in hiring a consulting giant in its downsizing endeavors; Accenture don’t come cheap, but it may help Intel's ascent to the future.